Since then, the show has explained Fred's absence by saying he was out of town on business. But rest assured, he will get a proper sendoff... Aguirre-Sacasa just wants to make sure they do it right.

"Rather than try to squeeze something in and potentially not get it right, we thought, 'Let's take a beat and let's figure out really what would be the best way to honor Luke and to honor the character of Fred, and let's do it at the top of season four,'" Aguirre-Sacasa explained. "Luckily, Molly [Ringwald] was already slated to come, so we kind of just reflected and wanted to give ourselves the time to do those things right."

As for how the show plans to handle Fred's death, he said they know more how or less how it'll happen. "Honestly though, things may change over the next month and I'd rather not say for fear of it changing," he admitted.

Aguirre-Sacasa also confirmed Ringwald, who plays Archie's mom, will have a bigger role next year. "We love Molly and we always love having her," he said. "I think she’s going to be a bigger presence next season for sure."